Torres: not far enough
In the midst of the calamity the country is facing brought about by continuous heavy rains and floods, Marestella Torres, Southeast Asia’s long jump queen and record holder, was trying to stay afloat and survive the pressure of competing in her second Olympic games appearance.
Four years ago in Beijing, her best leap of 6.17 wasn’t enough to carry her through to the final round of 12, especially after her initial jump of 4.27 which she says gave her pain on her left knee from the take-off. Coming into the London Games a lot more prepared, in better conditioning, and with a personal best of 6.71m under her belt, her chances of making it to the top 12 were quite strong and kept the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association, along with the rest of the nation, hopeful.
But her first attempt had her landing at the 5.98 meter mark putting her near the bottom of the standings. She was able to recover and covered a distance of 6.21m in her 2nd jump which catapulted her to the middle of the field. But still, she needed at least to beat her personal best which another athlete achieved and qualified with.
Russia’s Elena Sokolova qualified with a 6.71m jump. If only Torres could repeat her best jump.
But in her last jump, with all that she got, she only improved by 0.01m, not enough to carry her through the top 12. Marestella Torres ends up 22nd of the 28 athletes competing in the women’s long jump event.
She may not have gone the distance in London, but Torres has become an inspiration to many and is a pride of the country.
